1. Field
The present invention relates to a hearing loss compensation apparatus including an external microphone.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hearing loss compensation apparatus compensates for an ambient sound that a hearing impaired patient may be unable to perceive, and then provides the ambient sound to the hearing impaired patient such that the hearing impaired patient may normally perceive the ambient sound. In this instance, the hearing loss compensation apparatus may be an internal battery operated and; thus, technology to reduce power consumption of the battery may be required.
Recently, a hearing loss compensation apparatus inserted into an ear canal of the hearing impaired patient is being developed such that the apparatus is concealed within the ear canal to avoid revealing to other people that the hearing loss compensation apparatus is worn by the hearing impaired patient.
In this instance, when a size of the hearing loss compensation apparatus inserted into the ear canal of the hearing impaired patient is reduced, the hearing loss compensation apparatus may be inserted deeper into the ear canal. As a result, the hearing loss compensation apparatus may be disposed closer to an eardrum of the hearing impaired patient.
The smaller a distance between the hearing loss compensation apparatus and the eardrum, the lower an amount of power required to output a sound to be sufficiently perceived by the hearing impaired patient.
Accordingly, there is a desire for a method or an apparatus including a configuration to reduce a size of the hearing loss compensation apparatus.